


Moving On

by HayamaRei



Series: Portals [3]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Gen, Heart-to-Heart, Izzy is a great sister, Jace and Izzy being a family, Set several weeks after the events in On The Other Side
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-01
Updated: 2016-10-01
Packaged: 2018-08-18 20:42:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8175379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HayamaRei/pseuds/HayamaRei
Summary: Jace can't stop thinking about what happened in the alternative universe and how much of it applies to his own reality. Izzy is there to help.





	

**Author's Note:**

> We reached the end at last.
> 
> This is part three of the Portals series. If you haven't read On The Other Side I suggest you do it first.

"When are you going to stop doing that?" Izzy's voice pulled Jace from his thoughts. He turned to look at her. 

"Doing what?" He asked.

Izzy leaned forward on her elbows, propping her chin on her palm. "The thing where you stare at my brother like he has the answers to the mysteries of the universe but he refuses to share them with you." She said in a completely casual voice. 

"I don't stare at Alec like that." Jace argued. 

"Sure you do. Ever since we came back from our little trips you just space out like that." 

Jace sighed. He didn't know he'd been so obvious. "Do you think he noticed?" He asked Izzy.

"No. I don't think he has." She replied, throwing a glance at where Alec was talking on the phone at the other end of the room. "But you and I need to talk about it." Her tone left no place for argument even though Jace wanted to do just that. He nodded instead. 

"Not here." He didn't want to risk Alec overhearing. Izzy agreed. 

Five minutes later they were sitting on the bed in her room. She'd gone as far as locking the door to ensure no one would disturb them. Jace was grateful. 

Izzy pulled a pillow onto her lap and looked at Jace with more gentleness than he'd expected her to. "So, what is this about?" She asked.

Jace took a deep breath. He'd hoped that the thoughts would leave his head after a day or two but he kept thinking about it more and more as days passed. "Have I ever made Alec unhappy?" He asked back, not quite sure where to start. 

Izzy frowned, obviously not having expected that. "I mean, you've done some things to get on his nerves quite often..." She trailed off.

"No. I don't mean upset him. I mean... Have I ever made him miserable?" He was almost afraid of the answer. 

Izzy's face relaxed and the look in her eyes changed from confusion to something that resembled sympathy. "Why are you asking this?" 

"Because," Jace looked down at the white bedspread, "I can't get what happened there out of my head."

"And what exactly did happen?" 

"I won't go into detail, but it was true. What they say about the bond being stronger." He met Izzy's eyes again. "I could feel his love through it." 

Izzy nodded. "Does that bother you?" 

"No." Jace said quickly, not wanting her to get the wrong impression. "No. It doesn't. I'd never blame him, alternative universe or not, for what he feels. Felt." His thoughts drifted to Magnus. Had Alec already moved on? "It just got me thinking... All that love I felt. The happiness that radiated from him... I could have given him all that. Did I break his heart instead?" The last words felt bitter in his mouth and he grimaced. 

Izzy appeared to be in deep thought for a few moments and it almost made Jace regret asking. "I believe you did." She said in the end, her voice softer than ever. "But I also think it was inevitable. It wasn't your fault, nor was it his. We fall for the wrong person sometimes. And Alec is just a victim of it. If you had answered his feelings you would've made him happy, yes, but then he wouldn't have learned a lesson about love, either." 

"What lesson?" Jace asked. Her words were making his chest tighten. 

She smiled softly. "That love isn't easy. And that it's okay not to succeed from the first try." 

"I did." Jace muttered, feeling a sliver of guilt. 

Izzy sighed. "Yes. But it wasn't exactly easy on your part either, was it?"

Jace shuddered unconsciously at the thought about the whole ordeal with Clary. "I guess not. But I never realized just how much I could have hurt Alec with the things I did. I thought that if I did nothing, if I assured him that I'd always be there for him as a brother, I'd be doing enough but-" 

"You were." Izzy cut him off. In moments like those she resembled her mother more than she probably imagined. "You know Alec. If you'd done something else he'd have backed away. Withdrawn into himself, probably pushed you away. You see, the idea of you, of anyone for that matter, knowing terrified him. So quit blaming yourself for how things turned out."

Jace wasn't sure what more to say. Izzy had a point, she really did. The more he thought about it the more her words made sense. And Alec was moving on now. He'd found a person to make him happy. Or at least it seemed so. Jace wasn't blind. He saw the way they looked at each other. He felt the excitement that surrounded Alec every time he spoke about Magnus, noticed how he always seemed to drift off talking about the warlock every so often. 

He must have stayed quiet for too long because Izzy took his hand in hers and squeezed it. Her hands were warm and nice. It felt like home. "My brother is moving on. All you can do is stand by him and support him through it."

Slowly Jace smiled. "You know I will."

"Good."

"But if Magnus does anything to hurt him, ever, I'm going to personally kill him." He stated. Izzy chuckled. 

"Not if I get first to him you won't."

They shared a laugh and then suddenly Jace was being pulled into a hug. It was comforting one and Jace hugged her back. 

When they finally let go Izzy's face was shining with a smile. "So. Done moping around?" 

"I was not moping." 

"Sure you weren't."

When they left the room Alec was still talking on the phone. He was now sitting crosslegged on the floor in the training room and a brilliant smile was spread across his lips as he laughed at something. It was pure and happy and Jace smiled, too. They were okay.

**Author's Note:**

> I love Jace and Izzy being siblings so here you have it. I'd love to know what you think!
> 
> This is the final work in the series, however I'm leaving it as incomplete for now because there is this short thing I wrote from Alternative Universe Jace's perspective about AU Alec's death that I may post. I will mark it complete once I decide if I'll actually post it or not. Do you think you'll be interested in reading that?


End file.
